Dutch feed sector extra alert on melamine

After the Chinese Government announced to carry out
extra checks for the presence of melamine in animal feed, the Dutch Product
Board for Animal Feed (PDV) also took extra measures to prevent melamine
entering the Netherlands.

The PDV will do extra checks on melamine among the GMP+ feed companies in
the Netherlands. It will also check dairy products which are intended for animal
feed.

The extra checks for melamine in animal feed came after melamine
was found in baby milk powder in China. As of yet, over 50.000 children in China
have been affected by melamine and many children are in a serious health
condition. The reason why it was mixed with milk and milk powders is that it
enables you to "stretch" the milk with water. The addition of melamine would
then indicate falsely high nitrogen content, which generally is a quality
criterion for milk.